Saturday, April 24, 2010

MUM COMES FIRST FOR SURIA

Two-time Malaysia Cup winner R Suriamurthi will shelve football for his ailing mother.

The 52-year-old submitted his resignation to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) last Wednesday, and will relinquish his role as national under-17 coach in June.

"My mother has done so much for me, and now that she is bedridden, its time for me to attend to her and try to pay her back for what she has done for me," the former midfielder told MediaCorp yesterday.

Suria's 87-year-old mother has been bedridden for the last year or so, with his family and a maid attending to her, but her condition has worsened.

"I don't have another job waiting for me or anything, the only thing on my mind is to take care of my mother first, and I'll see how things work out," he said, revealing that he will tap into his savings in the interim.

"This is my mother, everything else can wait," he added.

Suria used to marshal Singapore's midfield in the late 1970s and '80s. He also starred for Pahang in the '80s.

He has been a coach with the National Football Academy since the start of last year, his second stint with the FAS after a four-year term from 2000 to 2004. He has not ruled out a return to the national set-up.

Said FAS senior head of game development, Jita Singh: "Suria's aged mum is bedridden and we offered to keep his post open until he is ready to return. But he has chosen to turn his full attention to his mother and we understand.

"The door at FAS definitely remains open to him."

The FAS will start looking for Suria's replacement in the coming weeks.